Is the excessve rental late fee legal?

Question

im renting in california and in my contract it states rent must be postmarked by the 1st or there is a 10% late fee added. I put my rent in the mail on the first but something happened and the postmark showed the 2nd, the property mgmt is now charging me 10% = to 180.00 late fee is this legal and do i have to pay it. it also states that the late fee is applied to the rent first which will show my rental payment not being paid in full.

Answer 1

You really need to check the laws in your area.  Most cities have restrictions on how much late fees can be.  If you can't find it, contact a local tenant advocacy center and ask them.  Do a Google search for "tenant rights" and then your city, and they should come up.  They will answer your question for free.

Answer 2

According to the article below fees over 6% of your rent are considered excessive.

"First, determine if the late fee is even a valid charge. If it does not conform to law or if it is excessive, you do not have to pay it. If it is legal, pay the rent on time or get an extension, in writing, to pay the rent after the due date without incurring any additional charges. If you have paid illegal late fees in the past, you may be eligible to have those fees refunded. Seek legal advice before you refuse to pay any fees or take any action to recover those fees."

I would certainly seek a lawyer before refusing to pay any fees. If it does happen to be legal and you refuse you could be breaking the lease.

Answer 3

The only way to have a late fee deemed excessive is to have a judge rule that it is.

The landlord can apply any monies paid to outstanding amounts due (late fees) if the lease provides that any monies owed per your lease are considered additional rent.

Your rent is $1800.00.

You do not pay the $180.00 late fee.

Next month, you pay the $1800.00 but the landlord can apply it to the outstanding late fee first, leaving your rent paid for that month @ $1620.00. The landlord can then serve you with a 3 day notice and begin the eviction process.

http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landl...

Late fees and dishonored check fees

A landlord can charge a late fee to a tenant who doesn't pay rent on time. However, a landlord can do this only if the lease or rental agreement contains a late fee provision. In some communities, late fees are limited by local rent control ordinances. (See Rent Control)

Late fees must be reasonably related to the costs that your landlord faces as a result of your rent payment being late. A properly set late fee is legally valid. However, a late fee that is so high that it amounts to a penalty is not legally valid.98

What if you've signed a lease or rental agreement that contains a late-fee provision, and you're going to be late for the first time paying your rent? If you have a good reason for being late (for example, your paycheck was late), explain this to your landlord. Some landlords will waive (forgive) the late fee if there is a good reason for the rent being late, and if the tenant has been responsible in other ways. If the landlord isn't willing to forgive or lower the late fee, ask the landlord to justify it (for example, in terms of administrative costs for processing the payment late). However, if the late fee is reasonable, it probably is valid; you will have to pay it if your rent payment is late, and if the landlord insists.

Answer 4

check CA landlord tenant law - in Oregon it is illegal to charge a late fee before the rent is at least 5 days late, and 10% of the rent is excesive and I believe also illegal here.

You should be able to find these laws thru CA state website.